“Somewhere in the middle of the road of my life, I found myself in the dark wood of unemployment and debt. But instead of switching careers like a sane person, I took a job at Trader Joe’s to see if I could hang in there. And um, it’s actually worked out pretty well. I’m Geoffrey Owens and I’m an actor.”

Almost immediately after the photos of the actor bagging groceries went viral, Tyler Perry offered him a job on the Oprah Winfrey Network. He also appeared on Good Morning America, and Nicki Minaj donated $25,000 to the actor, which he in turn donated to The Actor’s Fund in memory of Earle Hyman, who played Cosby’s father, Russell, on The Cosby Show. On the show, Owens played Cosby's son-in-law Elvin Tibideaux. Since the grocery bagging photos, Owens said he has completed three films and several television projects.

"Fortunately that difficult time didn't last very long, a couple of hours of humiliation versus the last five months of support and love and employment, so it was worth it," he said.

The actor's advice to those experiencing the ups-and-downs of an acting career: "Just be calm and trust."

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